Remembrance of a Fond Battle
by 400PercentSync
Summary: The Dominator of the Universe, Lord Boros has traveled across the stars in search of one thing, a worthy opponent. But when he suddenly finds himself alone in an unknown corner of space, his overwhelming strength will be put to the test against new and powerful foes.
1. Chapter 1

Twenty years, he had traveled across the universe for twenty long years in search of the prophecy, and he had finally reached his destination. An opponent worthy of him, one who could make him go all out in a battle. The rush of fighting an opponent who could go toe to toe with him, the feeling of adrenaline he had almost forgotten was flooding back into his senses.

His every move was aimed to kill, but even throwing the full weight of his blows at his enemy wasn't enough to end the duel. They rushed at each other again and again, tearing into each other with savage abandon.

Battered and beaten, the two combatants winded up for a final blow, their fists crossing mid punch and in an instant, they had struck each other square in the face. The force of the impact shattered their surroundings in a massive shock-wave, their explosive powers blowing each other away.

Ba-bump.

The large single eye on his face shot open in an instant, he blinked a few times and glanced around the room in abject confusion. The soft pink glow from his ship's interior filled his vision; it appeared that he was in his ship, seated atop his throne. The memories of the fight, the feeling of it, they were all false, nothing more than but a fleeting dream.

With one hand he pushed his wild mane of neon pink hair out of his face, shaking his head as if to force the dream from his mind. The only sound outside of a low electrical hum from the ship was the soft metallic clinking of his ornate earrings. He stood up abruptly; the metal floor creaking against the force of his movement.

He stretched his stiff body, cracking his neck to the side as he walked down the steps from his throne into the main room. His massive footfalls echoed violently through the silent vessel, which remained as quiet as the depths of space. Though he had no need for it, his crew insisted on leaving a post of guards at the door, but they were suspiciously absent.

Not even Geryuganshoop, his most loyal follower had made his presence known. The creature would often greet him after he awoke from a nap and inform him of what had transpired while he slept, but not a single tentacle-like appendage of his could be seen.

He stopped at the door that led to the main common area of his ship, pausing to gather his thoughts. Still unable to shake the feelings from his dream, the boredom of reality hit him even harder than normal, and the lack of even his comrade's normal infectious enthusiasm wasn't helping.

"Where have they gotten off to?" He thought to himself aloud, the silence around him becoming unbearable. He looked around the room once more, as if to see if it held the answer to his question, but nothing was out of the ordinary outside of how eerily still everything was.

He shook his head again and exited his throne room, passing through the bowels of his vessel, the flagship of the ultimate band of pirates in his star system, the Dark Matter Thieves. They had plundered countless worlds and defeated all who stood in their way, unstoppable; they truly were the scourge of the universe. But he had come this far into space for a different purpose.

His crew followed for the profit of it all, but he was searching for something he had yet to find, something his very essence cried out for. The prophecy had seemed too good to be true, seeming to be more like a trap meant to drive him to the ends of the universe in search of something that was never there, but he had to try. His soul burned with the desire to fight one who could match him in battle, for what point was there to being the strongest if the competition is too pathetic to even make you try?

In the long years since he had begun this new quest, he had seen many strange things in the universe, but none matched the prophecy he had been given. In that time, his crew had gone from something he only used for his own gain and changed into something he actually cared for. His comrades, his friends, the strongest creatures in all of space stood by his side… so where were they now?

As he walked through his massive starship, a feeling of apprehension formed in the pit of his stomach, one which worsened the more he searched. Gone, gone, gone! Everywhere he looked, every post that should be manned, was empty. None of his crew existed within either the various relaxation rooms nor in their own quarters either, where had they all disappeared to?

He came to the door that led to the recreation center, a room not often used by him, but frequented by the rest of the crew. He recalled the last time he had been here, during an unfortunate surprise birthday party thrown for him by Geryuganshoop. The alien closest to the entrance had yelled surprise too early, and his instincts got the better of him- it took close to two weeks to repair the hull damage from his reaction. And they never did find that crew member's body...

But even then, when hiding, he could sense their presence somewhat; even when they tried to mask their presence they gave off low level energy signals he could pick up on. Not today however. No matter how much he stretched his senses, he couldn't find a single one of them. Even after he entered the room, there was no sign of them, but what was worse was there were no signs of them _leaving_ either.

How could a crew in the thousands just… vanish? No evidence of them leaving, or any attack on them existed, and all of their personal belongings remained where they had left them.

Mentally exhausted from his search, he fell into a nearby seat in the common room. The room shook from the impact and the chair's metal frame groaned under the pressure, but it held strong for now. His single eye looked around the room, passing over a poster on the wall of a female alien of unknown origin with three eyes, who was wearing quite the impractical looking spacesuit.

He passed once more through the training halls, equipped with all of the latest technologies in order to make his forces as strong as possible. Holographic training dummies, advanced simulators so realistic they almost seemed to be truly happening, and other miscellaneous equipment lined the room. He closed his single yellow eye, and the image of Groribas practicing his various 'killing moves' came to the forefront of his mind, but the alien was nowhere to be seen when he opened it.

The cyclopean alien clenched his fist, his metal glove making a violent scraping noise. Finally, he stood up and headed towards the ship's control room, maybe the computers would hold some answers. After navigating the maze like structure of his ship, he finally arrived at the main controls, where Geryuganshoop should have been stationed, commanding the lower ranks. But the invertebrate creature was absent like all the others.

The hum of the machines was louder here as the ship's massive computer was located nearby; he walked towards the source of the sound and sat before a console. He wasn't sure what he was looking for as he glanced around the screens, finally, something odd managed to catch his eye. Pulling up the ship's travel log, his eye widened in shock. None of the star charts in his system matched up, he was nowhere in known space.

In order to not have a single point of reference, not even his own ship's records, he would have had to travel a massive distance, how could that have occurred in a single night? It was utterly incomprehensible, the amount of time he had slept wasn't nearly long enough for this to have happened, and it still didn't explain his missing crew.

But then he noticed it, he hadn't paid attention to the local sensors until this moment, too distracted by everything else to care. The ship was 'docked', so to speak, above a planet. This was perfect, he needed to vent his frustration at this series of events, and the world below would suffice. Chances are it would be uninhabited anyways, as most worlds were in the depths of space.

He stood up and turned around so swiftly that a gust of wind was created by his movement, his armor's cape flowing out behind him. He entered the hangar bay, passing by the docked fighters and boarding craft used for raids, and stood before a large window looking down on the planet. His lips spread across his face.

The planet lived, he could see lush forests and sparkling oceans even from this high in orbit. This was better than he could have imagined, and without hesitation he pressed the switch on the hanger doors, opening the bay into space.

"This will do quite well," and with his final words, left for no one in particular as none were around to hear him, he leapt.

* * *

Piccolo was not having a good day, a common occurrence since he had taken on the task of training this brat. Sure, he showed potential, but he was unruly to say the least. His training of the boy was harsh, but if they had any chance of surviving the arrival of the Saiyans they would have to increase their strength exponentially. It was for this reason and nothing more that he was helping his former enemy's child.

In the months since they had begun, he felt his reluctant apprentice start to understand the basics of combat a bit more than he already had, but it wasn't enough, they'd need more than basic fighting skills to go up against this opponent, if Raditz' warning was to be believed. He hated to admit it, but he actually _wished_ Goku were here, something he'd never have thought would happen before.

It had only been a month since they had started sparring, his initial training method had been quite hands off. He'd left him in the Break Wasteland, a harsh environment if ever there was one. The name of the wastes was apt, for it was quite possible that spending six months in solitude here would have "broken" the boy, and he wouldn't be able to forge him into a weapon that could be used if he couldn't even survive this test.

But the boy had pulled through, and now he had started his real training. He grew stronger every day, but the deadline grew ever closer, would he be ready in time? He wasn't sure, but he would have to be if they held any hope of surviving.

"That won't do at all, Gohan, your strikes have no _power_ behind them!" After taking a flurry of blows from the young boy that were so weak he could easily shrug them off without even blocking, he brought his leg up in a straight kick, sending the boy careening into a nearby outcropping of rock. "You must be prepared to kill your opponent with each blow, if you cannot even grasp this then everything we've done has been pointless."

"I'm trying; I'm really trying my hardest, Mr. Piccolo!" Gohan unsteadily climbed to his feet, he shook his head and a cloud of dirt and debris flew out of his unkempt head of hair. "Y-You're just too strong, I can't be like you!"

Despite his complaining, the boy didn't give up his assault, rushing back in even faster than before. With a swift punch to the face, Piccolo expressionlessly sent his trainee back to the ground.

"Again, focus your anger into your attacks and draw out your latent power!"

Their sparring continued throughout the day, with only a short break at lunch to recover. He might be doing this to train Gohan, but he had to sharpen his own abilities too, he wouldn't allow those foolish friends of Goku to surpass him.

They were about to start the next round, when Piccolo froze. Every muscle in his body tensed as he felt it, an immense power headed towards him. This speed… was it them? He put his arm in front of Gohan and motioned for him to step back, before he noticed the boy had already hidden behind a rock.

"It's too soon, are they early?!" he took a combat stance as he saw what looked like a meteor fall through the sky towards the wasteland, right out there own position, and he could feel his own weighted cloak flapping behind him in the wind.

The blazing trail of the descending object finally made contact with the earth in an explosive way. The resulting shockwave blew the surrounding area apart, and even after bracing for it Piccolo found himself struggling to stay on his feet. As the dust began to clear, he could see what it was. Within the crater was no asteroid, nor any kind of spaceship, but a man.

The power level he felt moments ago was in front of him, standing casually at the center of the explosive crash. Piccolo could feel the energy within him, though he couldn't get an exact reading, was he masking his abilities somehow? What he could sense however, was that this figure was roughly on the same level as him, if not a bit weaker than he had become after his training.

Maybe he had been worried for nothing, if this is the best they've got, he could take him on his own. He glanced back towards Gohan, still hiding behind one of the remaining rocky outcroppings in the area, and signaled for him to stay out of the fight. He couldn't feel any others approaching, so either none of Goku's friends had noticed, or they chose to stay out of it. Either way was fine for him, he didn't need them interfering with his fight.

Piccolo rolled his shoulders back and stepped up to the edge of the crater, a smile crossing his face as he thought about the upcoming fight. He hoped this Saiyan threat he had worried about for half a year would at least give him a good workout, but this power he felt barely seemed to be able to do so.

The cloud of dust finally dissipated all the way, and he could fully see the form of the invader. Slowly walking out of the crater was a figure in ornate armor, white cape flowing out behind him. His skin was blue, with dark black markings extending across like cracks. His wild pink hair fell messily across his face, partially obscuring his massive single eye. This thing… was no Saiyan.

There was something about the confident way the approaching alien walked that made him hesitate, normally he wouldn't have allowed an enemy, even one weaker than himself to get so close, but Piccolo found himself unable to move. And before he knew it, the cyclopean alien stood only a few steps away.

"Who are you, are you one of the Saiyan's allies?" Piccolo raised his fists, entering into a combat stance. He couldn't feel any hostility from the azure alien, but he remained cautious.

The strange creature made no movements, his expression unchanging as he stared at Piccolo with that unnerving single eye. Even though the power level of this foe was lower than his own, he still felt a tension in the air, most likely do to the alien's imposing figure. It was quite a rare thing for someone to be even near Piccolo's own height, and this creature exceeded it. The seemingly endless silence was finally broken by the newcomer, his mouth revealing a set of dangerous looking teeth as he spoke.

"Don't you know it's rude to demand another's name without offering your own first?" the arrogance in his voice reminded him of himself in the past, this was a man who saw himself above all others. The alien raised his hand slightly, but he didn't take any sort of combat stance. He merely gestured as if to say "get on with it" before returning to being motionless.

"Tch, don't act so high and mighty, alien," Piccolo wasn't one to hide his feelings, and his announcement toward the man before him was apparent in his tone. "Fine, I'll tell you my name. I am the Demon Lord, Piccolo. So, as I was saying before, who are yo-"

The strange alien raised his hand to stop Piccolo, before cocking his head to the side slightly and interrupting his question.

"You're not worthy of knowing my name, Demon Lord," Ignoring the angered growls from Piccolo, the alien continued. "But, as far as I can tell you possess the strongest energy reading on this planet. I don't expect much, but try and give me a good fight…"

Piccolo felt the Ki within the newcomer alien shift into activity; he was finally planning to attack. So, he wanted a good fight huh? That was a request the Demon King was more than happy to oblige. He sprang into action as fast as he could, hoping to catch him off guard with an early assault.

Putting as much strength as he could behind it, he threw a punch at the cyclopean alien, hitting him square on the jaw. The blue alien's regal looking boots dug into the ground as he skidded to a stop a few meters away.

Smiling, Piccolo prepared for his next blow, when he noticed it. The stoic face of the alien invader had changed; his face now carried a dejected expression. Was he… depressed? He must have just realized that he was hopelessly outmatched, and with that in mind Piccolo gathered his energy once more and dashed forward.

Time for him to test the results of his training.

* * *

It was his own fault for getting his hopes up, but he still couldn't help but feel disappointed. His opponent was unable to offer him even a momentary distraction from the crushing boredom that had driven him across the universe, and from what he could tell he was the strongest being on this world. If this was all the planet had to offer, then coming down here was pointless.

The green alien before him unleashed a barrage of strikes at him, each with the same force as his first punch. But even then, they weren't strong enough to even dent his armor, let alone injure him. And that was assuming they even managed to hit him, he had easily evaded them all, save for the first.

To an onlooker, it might have appeared as through the self proclaimed Demon Lord held the advantage, for the space pirate had done nothing but dodge since the fight had started. Indeed, the creature known as Piccolo seemed to think this as well, judging by his expression.

"You're pretty good… at _running away!_ " The green alien leapt into the air and fell in a downward kick. The blow was easily sidestepped by the space pirate, who barely had to put any effort into moving. "Fight back already!"

The green alien was starting to show signs of impatience with his constant dodging; the anger on Piccolo's face was almost palpable. But he only continued to avoid attacks, every exchange of blows ended the same, Piccolo would launch into a flurry and he would dart around him. The green alien's strikes might as well be in slow motion, reflex alone was enough for him to keep up with them.

He jumped away from the latest strike, stopping a short distance away from his opponent. As a feared space pirate, he had conquered many worlds, plundered the depths of the universe with his crew, but he was unhappy. Nowhere out there was an enemy who could best him, or even match his feats for a short time, and this exchange of blows was no different. This fight was truly boring, if all he was going to do was punch and kick he might as well give up now, at least some of the more exotic aliens he had bested before had unique powers or abilities to make a fight more exciting, if a bit gimmicky.

"Why should I bother with this fight, when you don't even take it seriously yourself?" His single eye locked onto his foe, staring at him unblinkingly. "If you want me to get serious, then stop holding back."

A wry smile crossed the Demon King's face, his frustration vanishing in an instant. Taking his cloak in one hand and his turban in the other, he removed them. Throwing them aside, they made a disproportionately loud thud as they hit the ground. So they were weighted, is that how lesser creatures train?

"If you insist, but don't come crying to me when you regret it, you asked for this!" the Demon King flexed his muscles, a serious look of concentration appearing on his face. Erupting from his body, a wave of energy filled the surrounding area, surrounding him like an aura. The cyclopean alien could feel the power within his adversary increase significantly, though it was still a drop in the bucket compared to his full power. Perhaps now he could get some enjoyment out of this battle.

Piccolo's legs coiled in a half crouch, and with a piercing roar he launched himself forward at a rate far beyond his previous velocity. He punched harder than ever, his fists turning into a blur before his eye. The blows rained down upon him faster and harder with each hit, the Demon Lord's arms stretched like rubber, making his range impossible to accurately calculate.

With a powerful kick, Piccolo sent the space pirate flying through the air and into a jagged protrusion of stone. The blue skinned alien crashed through the rocks and landed on the other side, appearing unharmed. He shook his wild pink hair, letting the fragments of rock fall to the earth around him.

Piccolo was on top of him before he had a chance to regain his bearings, launching a powerful three hit combo, each blow hitting him squarely in the face. The Demon king followed it up with a knee to the stomach, before backing up and throwing his hands out in front of his body.

Orange energy sparked from his hands as it gathered in his palm, the ground around the two fighters shaking at the immense power gathered by the Demon Lord. The attack's charge completed quickly, and with a roar he unleashed its power.

"Masenko!" A wave of bright orange energy fired from his crossed hands, blasting into the invading space pirate within seconds, the light completely engulfing him. At the same time, Piccolo finally landed, a look of satisfaction painted on his face. He clenched his fist and turned away from the explosion, walking slowly back to his cloak. "Humph, don't say I didn't warn you."

A gust of wind blew past him in an instant, nearly knocking him over. His expression changed from one of victorious confidence to complete shock. Standing before him was the same alien from before, completely unharmed from his attack outside of a few scratches on his armor.

The alien's toothy grin, which made him appear more like a shark than anything else, was completely different from his previous appearance. No longer did the alien look bored, but he didn't look intimidated either by Piccolo's fierce display of power. Piccolo instinctively stepped back from the man, the pressure being released from his stance was enough to unnerve even the Demon King.

"That's the way, Demon Lord Piccolo," the cyclops raised his hand, flexing it. he walked towards the slowly retreating Demon King, his single eye almost bulging out of his head. "You are worthy… of being killed by my hand!"

An explosive sound rocketed through the wasteland, Piccolo couldn't even see him move, did he break the sound barrier that easily?! His ears were ringing from the blast when he noticed it, his left arm was gone.

"..!" His eyes shot behind him, finally able to find the alien, who had made it behind him in seconds. In the alien's outstretched hand, was his missing arm, cleanly torn from his body before he could even feel the pain, how was this possible?!

"How boring, were you not even able to keep up?" He tossed the arm away like trash and turned back to face Piccolo. His expression was once again dejected as he looked at the green man before him. "You can't hope to win like that now."

"Oh this? This is nothing!" Piccolo focused his thoughts on his arm, and with a burst of energy, a new arm shot out from his bleeding stump. He balled the new hand into a fist and raised it towards him. "See? Good as new."

That regeneration… was on a level close to his, how interesting. Maybe this wouldn't be as dull as he thought, though he still didn't expect much. The space pirate raised his arms and entered a combat stance for the first time in the battle, his entire form extruded his killing intent.

In the blink of an eye he was right in front of Piccolo, their faces inches from each other. The demon king backed off, but was struck while he retreated, the blow slamming him across the valley. Before he could land, the alien continued his attack, running with immense speed across the ground and leaping up to grasp him in mid air.

Piccolo was thrown straight up, a barrage of fists he couldn't even see, let alone avoid, beating him from underneath. At the end of the furious combo of strikes, a hand wrapped around his ankle, and he was slammed against the earth. Piccolo rolled as soon as he hit the ground, narrowly avoiding the alien pounding the ground where he just was. The attack shattered the earth, forming a small crater where he landed.

Barely able to rise, Piccolo forced himself to his feet. He rushed in, throwing a punch at his foe's head. The alien vanished the moment the strike should have landed, and a fist dug into his back. The alien lashed out from every direction, dancing around him like a whirlwind.

What was this difference in their power? Even after he got serious, Piccolo had no way of keeping up with this explosive speed. The energy he felt within him was far lower than his own, so why couldn't he beat him? If it wasn't for his regeneration, each hit was enough to potentially kill him.

Piccolo dashed away as soon as the attack let up, he only had one shot left, and he had to take it. He placed two fingers from his right hand on his forehead and began to concentrate his power.

The air filled with electricity as he charged his attack, normally, the space pirate wouldn't have allowed him to, but he had to admit he was curious what he was going to do. But as the attack changed, he grew disinterested, is this really what he considers a trump card? It was slow, too slow to use in a real fight.

"Take this! The full power of my special beam canno-" Piccolo would never learn the effectiveness of his technique against this particular enemy, for before he could finish his sentence the alien was upon him. With a swift punch to the stomach, the pirate ended the fight. Piccolo's beam fired past the alien, its aim diverted by the last attack. The energy behind it was certainly impressive, but anyone could gather that much power with enough time, it was a worthless skill in a real battle.

Piccolo's vision went black momentarily, and when it returned, he was half embedded into a rock wall of a canyon. He coughed, spitting up purple blood, even his regeneration had limits, and this was a wound he couldn't quickly recover from, not after using so much energy in that failed attack at least.

"You were a worthy opponent, I can't remember the last time anyone has lasted this long against me, but the outcome is clear," his pink hair swaying in the wind and his cloak flowing behind him, the cyclopean alien slowly approached the defeated Demon Lord. "If you have any last words, say them now."

"It doesn't matter anymore, if I'm this weak…" he coughed again; the pain spreading through his body was almost unbearable. "If I'm this weak, I would have died soon anyways, I can't stand up against the Saiyans at this level…"

"Saiyans?" The alien stopped and cocked his head to the side. He wanted to know more, who were these 'Saiyans' he continued to bring up? "I remember you asking if I was with them, just who or what are these Saiyans?"

Piccolo dragged himself out of the stone wall, collapsing onto his knees on the ground below. Purple blood poured from his wounds, coating the dirt. Unable to even look up, he responded to the alien.

"Invaders… powerful aliens who will arrive here in a few months," he wasn't sure why he was telling anything to this creature, but he felt compelled to, for whatever reason. "One arrived around half a year ago, he was the strongest opponent I've ever seen… until you. We defeated him, but more are coming."

"Are they… stronger than the one you defeated?" a spark lit in the blue creatures single eye, could this possibly be the prophecy he had been told about? Maybe, maybe he had just arrived on the planet too soon, and his fated rival had not reached it yet?

"If what his words said is to be believed, they are… magnitudes stronger," perhaps he was feeling desperate, or maybe he was delirious from the lack of blood, but Piccolo said something he never expected to come out of his lips. "Save… this world. You're strong enough t-"

"Silence, I care nothing for this world," He reached down and wrapped his hand around Piccolo's neck, lifting him up into the air. "All I care about is fighting strong foes, so I _will_ fight them, not for you or this world, but for myself."

If he could still feel his lips, Piccolo would probably have smiled, he had taken the bait. If he could get this man on his side, they could win, even though his energy readings felt weak, he was incredibly powerful.

"But, it's not like you'll be alive to see it anyways," The alien raised his other hand, curling it into a fist. "Die with honor, Demon Lord Piccolo!"

"Leave Mr. Piccolo alone!" The space pirate hesitated as a cry cut through the wasteland, followed by an intense spike in a lesser energy reading he had ignored before. Speeding towards him incredibly fast, a small boy _flew_ at him, sending him flying with a flying kick to the chest. He lost his grip on Piccolo's neck, who tumbled to the ground, hacking up more blood.

The space pirate was stunned, for a brief moment, his new attacker had reached an energy level close to his own, and far exceeding the Demon Lord's. The pirate stood up; as he returned to his feet he heard a crack and looked down. His armor had broken, it was a minor fracture that could be fixed easily, but never before had an opponent of his broken his armor.

The boy tensed up as the pirate walked towards him, he held his arms up and stood in front of the downed Piccolo, no doubt intending to protect him. In was unfortunate then, that his energy reading had returned to its original level.

"Boy, why do you defend one who calls himself a Demon Lord? Your strike felt like his, are you perhaps his student?" he waited, and the boy finally nodded, he looked terrified, but he refused to back down. He turned back to Piccolo, ignoring the boy completely. "Demon Lord, how long until these Saiyans arrive?"

"Around five months, if nothing slows down their travel." Piccolo, possibly through sheer force of will, managed to return to his feet. He wiped the blood from his face with his arm and returned to a combat stance, but his form was shaky at best.

"Then I expect you to make him as strong as possible before then," He turned away from the two and began to walk away, but he paused for a moment and without looking back, he spoke in an emotionless tone. "I am Lord Boros; do not forget this name, Boy."

And then, Boros jumped. His leap so powerful the force of it knocked Gohan off his feet, and then he was gone, like he had never been there to begin with. After a short time of complete silence, Gohan finally let out a long sigh of relief.

Piccolo however, couldn't help but stare at the young Half-Saiyan, who had, if only for a moment, overpowered a foe he couldn't even scratch. He had seen the hidden potential of Gohan's before, he was able to injure Raditz as well, but this was something else, what were the limits of his untapped power?

"Y-You think he'll come back, Mr. Piccolo?" Nervously, the boy looked up to his unlikely mentor.

"Most likely, when the Saiyans arrive, but I really wish we don't have to cross paths again before that."


	2. Chapter 2

The warm glow of the setting sun had nearly disappeared beyond the horizon, but he continued to watch it. Atop a ledge jutting from the earth, one too large to be an outcropping but far too small to be considered a mountain, he waited. His wild pink hair swayed in the soft winds of his perch, and with a sigh, the space pirate known as Lord Boros closed his lone eye and leaned back against the cold stone.

This world was peaceful, a far cry from the harsh environment of his homeworld, he supposed this is why the majority of the inhabitants of this world were so weak. Even without his crew, he could easily subjugate this world single handedly, but what would that even accomplish? For one, this world held almost nothing of value, no rare elements or treasures to plunder, and no worthy opponents for him to test himself against… well, almost none.

He couldn't remember a time where he had ever shown mercy to his foes, and yet, he had let those two go. What was he thinking? Did he really expect either of them to become strong enough to match him? The green one, obviously not a native of this world, had been one of the stronger opponents he had met in his travels, but he was still a mere insect compared to his own capabilities. Then there was the boy…

Based on his observations of this world, the boy appeared to be of the same species as the dominate race of this planet, known mostly under the title of "human," but even among the adults of his species his power was something else. Only a few energy readings picked up by his ship could claim to be stronger, and none of them had shown such an explosive increase in power as the boy had.

Had it been a fluke, or was it a sign of his strength to come? While the former was more likely, he continued to hold out hope for the latter, if the self proclaimed Demon Lord was as good a teacher as he hoped… But still, until that time came, the space pirate was bored out of his mind.

He had spent much of his three months on this world looking for evidence of his crew, but there was still no sign of them. How and why had they disappeared, and how did he end up in an unknown part of the universe so easily? No matter how long he thought on this, he couldn't come up with a satisfying answer. He opened his eye and gazed across the wasteland, despite its barren nature, it was the most comfortable place on this world to him. The population mostly stuck to large cities, with the vast majority of the planet remaining as untamed wilderness.

Still thinking like a space pirate, he couldn't help but consider the possibilities of selling this world as a resort location, the pristine condition of the landscape and atmosphere was quite uncommon for a world with this level of industrial development. This wasteland could then serve him quite well as a base of operations for his band of pirates to expand outward. It would only take a few days for him to conquer this world, but holding back enough to do so without destroying the beauty, and with it the value, sounded excruciating.

A small bird lightly landed next to him on a pile of loose rocks, by the way it looked, it was a peaceful songbird. It opened its tiny beak to sing, but was cut short. Boros' fist slammed into the bird before it could make a sound, and it exploded into gore. The force of his strike crashed through the rocks it stood on, reducing them to dust and carrying through into the ledge he sat on, leaving a jagged fracture in it. Finally, after sitting unmoving for hours, he stood up and jumped from the cliff, doing nothing to slow his rapid descent into the bottom level of the wastes.

He was bored, sick and tired of waiting here for an enemy that might not even exist. How foolish he was, to assume that alien had been telling the truth! But even now, he wanted to believe, to hope for the future he had been searching for his entire life. He had come too far to give up now; those twenty years of searching for the man from the prophecy would be squandered if he gave up now.

Was there none out there who could satisfy his lust for battle? No worthy opponents who could face him? All he wanted, his entire life's desire was to fight against someone who could match him, but… why did he even wish for this? He had no desire to be the strongest, only to be matched in combat. Did he secretly wish for an enemy who could best him, to end his endless life of boredom? Or did he just desire one he could truly call a rival? maybe this was something in his basic nature, a need so ingrained in his existence he couldn't resist it. But no matter what it was, the answer existed only in combat, so he had to hold out hope for this, his last chance to find satisfaction on this dull planet.

He wondered why would these invaders bother coming to this world, his only thought could be resources, yet he had already seen what this planet had to offer, surely there are better choices out there? He shook his head as if to remove the unnecessary thoughts from his mind, thinking about this now was pointless, he didn't care what they wanted. All that mattered to him now, was for them to show him a good fight.

Boros threw his head back, letting loose as deafening roar that echoed through the wasteland. It did little to vent his frustration, but he continued to do it anyways. Clenching his fist, he punched the wall of rock behind him, his strike easily shattering it to pieces. He just had to hold out a little bit longer; only two months remained before they arrived. He had survived this long, he could last a bit more. Shaking the debris from his glove, he turned and walked away from the ruined outcropping, his cape lightly fluttering in the wind.

* * *

Fists clashed, in the seemingly unending Break Wasteland, two warriors battling with all of their might. Every strike strong enough to shatter stone, and aimed to kill the other combatant. The ground shook under their feet as they dashed around each other faster than the eye could naturally follow.

With a swift blow to the gut, the taller of the two fighters sent his small opponent flying, before drawing his green arm back to prepare for a powerful attack. The Demon Lord and his unlikely apprentice might only be sparring, but without going all out they stood no chance of being strong enough by the time the Saiyans arrived. But even without them, there was another menace out there now, the cyclopean alien known only as Lord Boros.

Even if Boros defeated the Saiyans for them, they would still have to deal with him eventually. While he had stayed out of their way since the first encounter, Piccolo hadn't felt his presence fade, he was staying close. Was he observing them from afar?

Gohan rushed in, only to be thrown back out by a hard strike to the face. Piccolo didn't stop there, he dashed forward, slamming a knee into the boy's back and sending him flying up. He leapt into the air and raised both hands above his head, before throwing them down into a two handed attack. The young Gohan shot through the sky like a bullet, the ground itself cracking under the force of his collision.

"Get up, we're going again," Piccolo walked over to the prone child, his face showing no emotion towards the boy. While it was true that over the months of training he had started to gain a strange affection for the boy, it didn't mean he could go easy on him now, they needed to push well past their current limits if they wanted to survive. "This time, I won't hold back!"

Before Gohan had even fully stood up, Piccolo charged at him, his fists flying faster than the eye could follow. The young Saiyan had no chance of keeping up with the flurry of blows, so he covered his face with his arms and braced against the assault. It wasn't enough however, and his defense was easily shattered by the far stronger opponent.

But suddenly, Piccolo's attack changed, he jumped away from the boy and held out one hand, his palm facing Gohan. Bracing his arm with his other hand, his inner power, his Ki, began to swell. Sparks flew around him, gathering at his palm, his arm shook under the explosive force of his Ki, but he held it firm. He wanted to see how Gohan handled this kind of attack, for surely the Saiyans could use blasts like this. The way Piccolo saw it, his apprentice had two choices, he could dodge this attack, or he could try and deflect the force elsewhere, but with his skill level that choice would be suicidal.

"Explosive Demon Wave!" With his shout, piccolo unleashed the fury of one of his signature skills, a massive beam of yellow energy erupted from his outstretched hand, the force of the blast almost forcing him off his own feet. Now, what would his protégé do when faced with this attack?

The look on Gohan's face could be described as nothing more than pure terror, such that it didn't even look like he has the capability to think, let alone dodge. But Gohan didn't evade the beam, he didn't even try. Instead, he crossed his hands in front of his face, his arms shaking with fear.

"M-Masenko!" he called out the name of an attack, an attack Piccolo had never taught him. The blast of energy met Piccolo's mid air, clashing with the Demon Lord's Ki.

The struggle between their two energy blasts only lasted a moment however, as the boy's was quickly overpowered by the Demon Lord's immense Ki blast. The blast pushed him back, engulfing the boy in the burning orange light as it tore a path of destruction across the ground.

Piccolo walked along the newly formed scar in the earth, slowly approaching his fallen apprentice. He hadn't expected him to try and deflect his beam with one of his own; at the very least the kid had guts. But when had he learned that technique? Piccolo couldn't recall ever teaching him it, and it wasn't something he had widely used since he began this training. The only time he could remember using it… was against Boros, was it possible this kid managed to copy it after seeing it once?

"Hey kid, get up," Standing over the boy's prone body, he lightly kicked him in the side. "Nap time's over, we still have training to do."

With a groan, the boy sat up. Despite taking that hit head on, he remained relatively unharmed outside of a few scratches, had he held back against him? Although he would never admit so out loud, he considered the possibility quite likely.

"Boy, that technique…" He looked down at the young Saiyan, who gazed up at the imposing figure of the green skinned Demon Lord, a look of terror in his eyes. "I don't remember allowing you to use one of _my_ skills."

Gohan froze, his eyes wider than they've ever been before. Piccolo remained unmoved, bearing down on his protégé. This too was part of his training; the boy had to master his fears if he was to survive the upcoming struggle. Shaking, Gohan finally managed to squeak out a response.

"I-I just remembered what you did against Boros, I didn't mean to take your technique Mr. Piccolo!"

"Humph, keep it," Piccolo turned away from the Saiyan boy, his cloak flapping in the wind. "It suits you more anyways, but you won't win against our enemies with a move like that."

Piccolo walked away, towards the quickly fading sun. He stopped and looked down at his open palm, before balling it into a fist. He had pushed himself more than ever, more than he could have imagined after his encounter with that cyclopes. But would it be enough? Had he become stronger, would he be able to survive?

His concern was partially on the approaching Saiyans still, but most of it had shifted to the other alien menace, Boros. He hadn't done anything to threaten this planet since he appeared, but who knew what would happen if he grew bored in the time between the arrival of the Saiyans?

But, he would worry about that when the time came, for now, all he can do was strengthen himself and hone Gohan's raw talent. He turned back to face the boy, his face as stern as ever.

"We're continuing, and remember, I won't hold back just because this is training."

* * *

His fingers darted across the controls before him as he idly fiddled with the systems of his ship, having nothing better to do. For five months he had waited, time passing almost as if in slow motion. Were these "Saiyans" even going to show up? He could have been lying, that damn Demon Lord could have been stalling for time in the hopes of getting strong enough to face him.

But his words had felt sincere, so the Space Pirate Boros was hesitant to doubt him. Leaning back in his chair, the bored alien sighed, his voice echoing through the empty halls of his ship. After five months he still had no idea what had happened to his crew, it was almost as if he was transported across the universe by some mystical force. Boros wasn't one to believe in such a thing normally, but he _had_ placed all of his hopes on a seer's prophecy.

He had passed the time as best he could, but this agonizing wait was bringing him near the end of his patience. If these Saiyans didn't arrive soon, he would return to the planet and punish that Demon Lord for his insolence. But even that wouldn't satisfy him, he had been watching that alien and his apprentices training from afar, and while he had come a long way, he couldn't hope to match his own raw power.

Boros closed his single massive eye, his boredom manifested in an intense feeling of lethargy, and before long he had fallen into a light sleep. He began to dream, but it was of something he had not expected to see. In his dreams he saw his ship, filled with the lively actions of his crew, his friends that were now lost to him. No matter how much he acted like he didn't care, he had to admit that he _missed_ them.

An alarm went off in the control room he slumbered in, and he was abruptly dragged from his slumber. Blinking in confusion a few times, he glanced down at the control panels. On the screen before him, a warning was displayed. Two objects were approaching at faster than light speeds, both about the size of a small comet. Their trajectory was aimed squarely at this planet, and they would pass dangerously close to his ship on their descent.

Boros stood up rapidly from his chair, the metal under his feet creaking with the force of his movements, was it finally time? He almost didn't believe it, could it actually be happening? He could feel life within the objects, though the energy readings were faint at this distance, if he could even sense them this far away, their power must be immense.

What was this feeling inside of him? Was he actually... excited? He tried to calm himself, if he expected too much he might end up disappointed once again. But something inside of him had awakened, he had to see if this prophecy held true.

His ship vibrated and rattled as the two comet-like pods hurled past his vessel, coming uncomfortably close to his hull. He walked down his ship's empty passageways, slowly approaching the hanger bay he currently used as a front door. His armor made a grinding metallic sound as his fingers dug into his palms; it took everything he had to contain his anticipation.

His hand shot up and smashed the button to open the hangar door, practically shattering it in the process. The door slid open, letting oxygen flow out into space for the brief moment before he leapt from the ship. He hurtled through the atmosphere, becoming a comet himself.

Seconds passed as Boros crashed into the planet with a thunderous explosion, a gigantic crater forming where he landed. The wasteland he chose to land at each time was quickly turning into an even more inhospitable place, with each descent of his causing severe collateral damage.

He shook his head, a cloud of dust and debris flying in every direction from his wild pink hair. He closed his eyes and extended his senses, searching for the energy readings of the two Saiyans. Finally, he located an enormous power to his right, and he turned towards it. If he recalled correctly, there was a city of natives in that direction.

"So, they truly are here to invade, but why this world?" he pondered the alien's reasons for choosing such an unassuming world as a target, but quickly dismissed the thoughts. The only thing that mattered to him now was the prophecy, and whether or not they could fulfill it.

He jumped, a great leap aimed towards the human city which he had only viewed from a distance before. He sailed through the air rapidly; repeatedly jumping with such force it almost appeared to be flight. He was however, not capable of truly flying, unlike his subordinate Melzalgald, who could sprout wings and take to the air. At the moment, he was rather jealous of this ability, as he grew ever more impatient as he approached the city.

Boros landed at the outskirts of the city, which had clearly seen better days. The buildings were in ruins, and the bodies of fallen civilians littered the landscape. It reminded him of his past conquests, of the times he razed worlds with his crew in their mad lust for battle. But he was alone, and this was the work of his enemy.

He strode through the ruined city, the burning wreckage of the peaceful society around him giving him no pause. Occasionally, he would see a survivor out of the corner of his eye, but he paid them no mind as he progressed, finally coming across two metal pods within a crater.

He could feel the residual energy of the two Saiyans, but they were long gone by now. Reaching out once more, he attempted to locate them, when he felt an energy reading he recognized traveling fast towards a wasteland to the east.

"You've grown stronger, Demon Lord, but it won't be enough," he leapt, his trajectory aimed for the same destination as his former opponent. "But you'll at least be useful in leading me to my foes!"

Boros' eye was wide as he soared through the sky, he could only imagine what these "Saiyans" were like, but he could feel their strength already. For once, he had hope, hope that he could find what he wished for. Everything would be worth it if he could just find an opponent who could match him, if only for a moment.

It seems that the Demon Lord, Piccolo, was able to travel faster than he was. Was it possible that he could fly, or did he have some sort of vehicle? He could feel the alien's presence getting farther away with each leap he made, but he was unable to travel any faster while still in his restrictive armor.

He finally neared a clearing where he sensed the presence of the Demon Lord, along with several other powers far above this world's average, though still nothing compared to even Piccolo's. The green skinned alien stood in front of a group of the local species, humans. Before him were two individuals, both wearing the same armor, those must be the Saiyans.

One was massive; his bulky frame towering over the others, while the other stood back, his arms crossed over his chest. They both appeared similar to these "Humans", but their energy readings were anything but. They also appeared to have tails, a feature that he knew humans did not possess.

He wasted no more time, leaping down from the stone pillar he stood on, landing directly behind the gathering of warriors. Everyone present reacted, turning to face the new arrival. Piccolo and Gohan leapt into battle ready posture immediately; at least their reflexes seemed to have improved from their training.

The other humans likewise took up fighting stances, though they had delayed reactions. One of them, a rather unimpressive looking short and bald human, looked terrified at the sight of him. The others seemed more confident, though they were obviously just acting tough. None of them made a move, not even saying a word as several moments passed in complete silence. Finally, a tiny voice broke through the tense atmosphere.

"B-Boros…" Gohan relaxed ever so slightly as the revelation of who had just come crashing down behind them, though he was still hesitant to lower his guard.

"You know this thing, Gohan?" A man with long hair and scars running across his face stepped forward, his fists still raised in front of him. He certainly seemed confident, despite the fact that Boros sensed his power to be below the average of the warriors gathered here.

For the insult of referring to him as a 'thing,' he should kill that insolent human, but he was so weak he barely seemed worth the effort to do so. He was either incredibly brave or a complete fool to mock an opponent that far outclasses him.

"He says he's a space pirate, he showed up while I was training a few months ago, Yamcha," Gohan didn't respond to the scarred human, instead Piccolo replied to the man's question. "I hate to admit it, but he utterly defeated me in combat."

"N-No way, he's stronger than Piccolo?!" The short bald human backed off a step, his body shaking even more. "Why is he here, is he an enemy too?!"

The others all waited in silence, Piccolo crossed his arms and sighed. It was an act totally unfitting of the intense atmosphere, only making the others stiffen up more. The man identified as Yamcha hardened his expression, not letting his eyes leave the alien before him.

"He's here to fight the Saiyans, apparently," Piccolo looked annoyed, as if the thought of an unknown alien defending the planet was weighing on his mind. "But I wouldn't exactly call him an ally."

"I don't like it either, but we can use all the help we can get holding these Saiyans off until Goku arrives." One of the other humans spoke, wait, was he even human? Boros looked at him and pondered his origins, for he possessed three eyes instead of two. "But if you try anything funny, I won't hesitate to stop you."

Boros took a step forward, and the human warriors all tensed up. It seemed they could at least somewhat feel his powerful presence, even while he remained in his armor.

"To imply you think yourself a match for me is rather insulting," Boros finally spoke, his mouth baring his shark-like fangs as he did. "You're two hundred years too early to be making that kind of threat."

The man with scars, Yamcha, looked ready to attack him for his comment, but Piccolo held him back. He scowled, but eventually calmed himself. Is this really the best this world could do in terms of warriors, it was quite frankly, a joke.

"Hey Vegeta, I think these backwater idiots are forgetting something," a new voice cut in, and everybody quickly turned to face it. One of the two Saiyans, the larger of the two, was the source of this voice. "I don't think they're taking us seriously."

"Humph, I think you're right, Nappa," The shorter of the two Saiyans spoke, his voice carrying an arrogance that reminded Boros of many of the other over confident aliens he had bested. From what he could sense, he was also the stronger of the two by far. "Why don't you go teach them a lesson, Nappa?"

"Finally, I was getting restless just standing around here!" The bald Saiyan flexed his muscles and stepped forward. He was certainly confident in himself, but it remained to see if he could back it up.

Without hesitation, Boros strode past the others and stood before the Saiyan Nappa. Disregarding the humans, his only focus was on the imposing man before him.

"Hey Vegeta, what's the Scouter say about his power level?" Nappa cracked his knuckles and looked over his shoulder at the other Saiyan, who pressed a button on his eyepiece before smirking.

"Nothing you would have to worry about, it's not even at four thousand," the shorter Saiyan, Vegeta, spoke with a disdain for the result, sounding almost disappointed. "Though, that does make him the strongest one here, next to the Namekian."

So the self proclaimed Demon Lord was nothing more than an alien, he should have known. He had never heard of either Namekians or Saiyans, which only further drove home the idea that he was nowhere in known space from his original trajectory.

"If you want a fight, then get on with it, I grow bored just standing here," Boros sighed, did every overconfident alien in the universe have to talk for ages before they fought? "Disregard the others, your opponent is me."

"I like this alien, Vegeta, he gets straight to the point!" And with that, Nappa charged forward at a speed rather unexpected of his great size. "It's been too long since I've had a good workout!"

A fist moving faster than a normal eye could see hit him square in the chest, forcing him backwards. The sheer force of the strike sent a shockwave across the battlefield, tearing apart the ground below their feet. Boros' armor cracked, but he felt none of the blow. He quickly recovered, but Nappa was already on top of him again.

A flurry of punches and kicks from the bald Saiyan filled his vision, but he didn't attempt to block. Boros was blown away by Nappa's furious assault, crashing into a nearby stone pillar. The color in the faces of the human warriors drained away, particularly in Piccolo's. He already knew the strength Boros possessed, so to see him knocked around so easily…

But the blue skinned alien stood up like it was nothing, casually dusting himself off. He was somewhat impressed, the brute had managed to damage his retraining armor, how long had it been since an opponent could do that so easily? Boros crouched low, tensing the muscles in his legs. Then, he vanished.

The burly Saiyan was sent flying by a blow from the side, unable to avoid Boros' swift charge. As he fell through the air, he gathered a ball of energy in his hand and tossed it at Boros, its speed far beyond what the Saiyan was normally capable of.

Boros ducked under the energy blast, the ball of light passing harmlessly through his mane of pink hair. Nappa meanwhile landed back on his feet, having taken no noticeable damage from the attack.

"You're fast, I'll give you that much," Nappa grinned, a vicious look in his eyes. "But that punch felt like a bug bite to me, if that's all you've got you should start begging for mercy now and save me the trouble!"

They both rushed back in at the same time, each launching an explosive flurry of attacks to match the other. Their fists clashed again and again, but neither fighter gained any ground. Suddenly, the storm of fists stopped, and napped tackled the cyclopean space pirate.

The Saiyan's muscles bulged as he squeezed his arms around Boros, attempting to crush him with his strength alone. The sounds of metal bending and breaking filled the air, as his armor was slowly compressed.

Boros slipped his foot between Nappa's and with a quick sweep, knocked the man off his feet. The two aliens toppled over each other as they fell to the ground, but Boros leapt to his feet quickly. Nappa soon followed, and the two resumed the fight without a pause, Nappa throwing another powerful punch at Boros.

Boros grasped the Saiyan's arm mid strike, and brought his other arm down in an elbow strike, attempting to break it. But Nappa pulled his arm back faster than he anticipated, the Saiyan's raw strength was something to behold.

Nappa lunged, catching Boros in a chokehold, before slamming him against the ground and pinning him with his other arm.

"Look Vegeta, I caught an alien!" the Saiyan laughed as if he had just made a hilarious joke, but Vegeta just shook his head.

"Stop playing around Nappa, finish off the poor bastard already so we can get on with our search for the Dragon Balls!" The impatience in Vegeta's voice was obvious; he must have considered this fight as big a waste of time as Boros did.

The Space Pirate known as Lord Boros was bored; this Saiyan couldn't give him a remotely interesting fight. To an onlooker, it might seem as though they were evenly matched, but he knew the truth.

Boros kicked off the ground, breaking Nappa's hold on his neck and flipping over the Saiyan's large frame. In mid-air, he wrapped his legs around the bald man's neck, twisting his upper body as he fell. Nappa was thrown to the ground with a massive crash, a cloud of dust filling the area.

"I'm impressed you've kept up with me this long, most who face me die before I even get serious," Boros looked away from Nappa, having lost interest in him, instead his eyes fixated on the other Saiyan. He could feel an immense power in him, he was truly the opponent he wished to fight, not this smallfry.

"Tough words for someone who can't even beat Nappa, I doubt you would even last one second against the power of a high class Saiyan like myself," Vegeta's arrogance reminded him of his own, the arrogance of one with true strength. "Dammit Nappa, I told you to take this seriously!'

"Yes, Boss," the bald Saiyan rose to his feet, the almost playful look in his eyes before was gone, replaced with a stern expression. He stretched his arm out, winding his shoulder as if to remove the stiffness of his muscles. A slight rise in the energy reading Boros could feel from Nappa told him he was ready to seriously fight, though it would make little difference, he would respond in kind.

"I can't remember the last time I've had to remove my armor during a fight, you should consider this an honor, Saiyan warrior!" Boros' muscles flexed, and in one motion, his armor fell from his body, clattering to the ground around him. A bright pink energy enveloped him like an aura, and a huge shockwave rocketed across the plains, knocking down all but the Saiyans and Piccolo.

Boros' muscles bulged, his rather thin body becoming twice its original size as his hair spiked up above his head. His skin darkened, turning from a soft blue to a hardened black shell, spikes began to appear over various parts of his body such as his knuckles and shoulders. Finally, the dark gray lines that ran across his body like veins of lava began to emit an intense neon blue glow.

Boros barely looked like the same person, his form had completely changed. Suddenly, a second eye shot open on his chest, which only added to the alien's menacing appearance. Piccolo stood staring at him in horror, realizing just how outclassed he had been in his initial fight against the cyclops. Another surprisingly shocked expression was Vegeta's, whose confused face quickly turned into rage.

"That… That's not possible, how can a nobody alien like you on this backwater world have a power level that high!" Vegeta removed the eyepiece on his face and crushed it in his hand. "I won't accept this, trash like you can't possibly this strong, it must be broken!"

"What's wrong, Vegeta?" Nappa, looking confused, turned on his own scouter. As soon as it clicked on, he froze. "W-What, fifteen thousand?!"

"Be honored that you were strong enough to even witness this form, Nappa," Boros slowly walked towards him, his size now almost matching the Saiyan's bulk. "Though I doubt I'll need to use my full strength against you."

Boros vanished once again, but this time even Nappa looked shocked. Before, Nappa had been too slow to react, but he could still follow the movements with his eyes. Now however, he couldn't even see Boros as he moved.

"Guuhhh!" An explosive bang followed by a fit slamming into Nappa's stomach was the next thing everyone saw. His fist easily exceeded the sound barrier, and the Saiyan warrior was blown away. He crashed through three stone pillars before his momentum finally stopped.

"Still alive? You really are an impressive warrior, Nappa the Saiyan!" Boros leapt into the air, the ground fracturing around him from the force of his jump. "But it's time I end this, farewell!"

Nappa stood up, his entire body shaking. He began to gather energy within his body, a sphere of light forming in his open mouth. It was evident from the situation that this was his trump card, Boros was realistically expecting nothing from it, but he hoped it would impress him.

"Break Cannon!" the Saiyan roared, the sphere of energy in his mouth transforming into a massive beam of light. His strongest attack engulfed Boros completely, for a moment it appeared to have overpowered the Space Pirate.

A flash of neon pink cut through the beam, smashing into Nappa with the force of an asteroid. Standing before Nappa was Boros, completely unharmed after tanking the Saiyan's Break Cannon. His fist was thrust through the bald man's chest, soaked red with gore.

Boros yanked his arm free, and the Saiyan collapsed immediately, having already died from the blow. Crimson ichors dripped onto the dry ground off Boros' arm, the fight had ended.

Boros couldn't help but feel disappointed, even though he had anticipated this outcome from the start. For all of his boasting, the Saiyan died like any other. This wasn't enough, an opponent on this level couldn't even make his heart beat faster then a light jog, he needed an enemy who could match him!

His gaze returned to the remaining Saiyan, who stood motionless, staring at the body of his fallen comrade. Despite this, he didn't appear to be upset at his death, instead he looked at Nappa's body with disdain.

"Pathetic, to lose so easily… he isn't worthy of being considered a Saiyan," Vegeta, still motionless, berated his fallen brethren, before turning to face Boros.

Boros stepped over Nappa's body, completely disregarding how disrespectful such an act might seem, and approached Vegeta. Without turning towards them, he addressed the human warriors, who were still frozen in shock.

"Leave," his voice was cold, a commanding tone fitting of the leader of a notorious band of marauders. "You'll only get in the way."

None of them had any complaints about this, not after witnessing what just happened. They were, quite simply, outclassed. It seemed as though the mysterious alien known as Boros might even be a match for Vegeta. But then, what would they do about Boros?

Slowly but surely, the human warriors all fled to a safe distance, until only Piccolo remained. He looked at Boros, then closed his eyes and turned away. "You better win, I have unfinished business with you!"

Boros didn't bother responding, his answer should be clear as day. Wasn't it obvious? Of course he would win. None in the universe could stand up to his might; this would be the same as ever.

"Just because you beat Nappa, you think you can take me on? Don't make me laugh," Vegeta uncrossed his arms and started towards Boros. "Sure, your Power Level is unusually high, but it's still well below my own, this won't even be a fight."

"We shall see, Saiyan," Boros flexed his immense muscles, only further stressing how much larger he was than the Saiyan. "I can tell you're far stronger than any other I've faced before, I may even have to get serious to kill you."

"You insolent fool, do you have no idea who you're standing before? If you had any brains behind that massive eye of yours, you would be cowering in fear right about now," were this a contest of arrogance, even Boros would be hard-pressed to defeat such a foe. What Vegeta lacked in size, he made up for in self confidence, but would that translate into strength?

"All I see is a loud little monkey, who wastes my time with pointless chatter," Boros, at nearly eight feet tall, easily dwarfed the Saiyan as he walked towards him, but the man wasn't intimidated in the slightest by his stature. "Come then, show me a good fight, _Saiyan!_ "

"You bastard, I'll rip that tongue right out of your mouth," Vegeta clenched his fists, and an aura of power surrounded him, the ground below his feet shaking with the force of his energy. "Let me show you the fate of those who insult Vegeta, Prince of all Saiyans!"

"Very well, Prince Vegeta. I, Lord Boros of the Dark Matter Thieves, shall take you on with my full strength!" Boros brought his fists to his side, his pink aura returning.

In the blink of an eye, they both disappeared from sight. An explosion rocked the wasteland, shattering numerous pillars and outcroppings. Within the center of the blast, the two combatants stood, their fists connected mid blow.

Something cracked within Boros' arm, and a feeling he hadn't experienced in decades rushed through his mind, pain. The strongest space pirate in the universe, with no known equal, had been injured. His mouth widened into a toothy smile, this was more than he had expected.

He pulled his injured arm back, launching a flurry of blows with his remaining limb. The Saiyan blocked every hit, not seeming to take any damage from them. Boros focused his energy on his arm, sending his healing factor into overdrive. In only a moment it was repaired and his attack rush intensified, both of his fists turning into a blur as they cut through the air.

Vegeta dashed to the left, slipping through Boros' assault with ease. He slammed his fist into the huge alien's face, sending him crashing across the wasteland. Boros leapt up as soon as he came to a stop, narrowly avoiding a kick from the Saiyan King.

The wasteland's many mountains and hills were reduced to rubble with the ferocity of their battle. Each exchange of blows created a new scar in the earth's crust. But Boros was losing ground in the fight, While he could survive the Saiyan's onslaught due to his healing abilities, he was taking damage. Meanwhile, Vegeta was unharmed outside of a few superficial scrapes.

Boros landed on the ground after their last airborne exchange, Vegeta landing a short distance away. Panting, Boros was clearly the one struggling to keep up. It was nearing the battle he wanted, but something was missing, he still couldn't feel the spark.

"I'm impressed, Prince Vegeta!" His confident tone clashed heavily with the state of the fight, but Boros wouldn't give in so easily. "Of the myriad enemies I've faced… only you have managed to survive this long against my true strength!"

"You certainly are a tenacious piece of garbage, aren't you?" Vegeta scowled at the Space Pirate, his voice carrying none of the respect Boros' had. "If it wasn't for that regeneration of yours, you'd have died a dozen times over by now."

"The harsh environment of my homeworld has gifted me with a powerful regeneration far beyond any other in the universe, a wound you would find fatal heals within seconds for me. While you'll only become more fatigued and damaged as the fight continues, I'll continue to recover like this, your efforts are futile!"

A blue light surrounded Boros, as his body began to glow with an intense energy. The latent, explosive energy within his body could be released as a devastating attack that would vaporize even the bones of most living creatures.

"I apologize for not truly going all out from the start, Vegeta!" Boros' energy shook the surroundings; even he was barely able to contain it anymore. "But now that I know you to be a worthy opponent, I shall use the full extent of my powers!"

All at once, Boros unleashed the energy the welled up inside of him, firing it like a cannon from the second eye on his torso. A beam of radiant blue tore towards Vegeta, engulfing him instantly.

A massive explosion ripped apart their surroundings on a scale unlike the rest. The resulting shockwave even forced away the clouds in the sky. Boros dove forward, rushing in to meet the still standing Vegeta.

He threw a punch, his huge fist shot through the air and connected with Vegeta's body, sending him hurtling through the air. But the Saiyan abruptly stopped, floating in mid air. Boros' eye widened, he could fly with no wings to support him?

"Ha, you call that going all out?" Vegeta crossed his arms, a low chuckle escaping his lips. "To think you were a match for a true Saiyan warrior, where do you get the nerve?"

Boros hadn't held back with that punch, yet the Saiyan seemed unharmed, how was this possible? His heart began to beat faster, could this really be it? This Vegeta, was he the one from the prophecy?

"Looks like I'll have to show you what a high class Saiyan is truly capable of!" Vegeta brought both hands to his side, bringing them close together. Suddenly, an immense spike in energy within him occurred, so much so that Boros instinctively took a step back. A purple aura surrounded the Saiyan Prince, the energy cracking violently around him

"Not even your regeneration can withstand the full power of this," Vegeta threw his hands forward, a massive beam of purple light erupting from his fingertips. "Galick Gun!"

The beam moved faster than he could dodge, it's intense heat hurtling towards him as he stood frozen. Gathering as much strength as he could, Boros unleashed a second blast of his own energy from his second eye.

The blue and purple beams clashed mid flight, both of an equal power. Boros strained his body, pushing himself to his limits, and his beam began to overtake Vegeta's. But the Saiyan wasn't about to let that happen, and his own output also increased, overwhelming Boros' beam.

The Galick Gun crashed through Boros' unnamed technique, digging a deep scar into the earth. Boros was blown back into a stone wall, shattering it on impact. He fell to his knees, blood pooling all around him from his wounded body.

Vegeta landed a short distance away from him, his face the epitome of smugness. From the look on it, it was clear he thought he had already won this battle. Boros however, had another opinion. He dragged himself to his feet, his body barely holding together. His were already repairing themselves, and he soon returned to full strength.

"Very good, Vegeta," Boros tenses his body, his energy levels rising again. "But I'm not done yet!"

A typhoon of blue and pink energy surrounded Boros with an intensity unlike before, the ground literally splitting apart around them both. His body changed again, his armored black skin turned a fluorescent white along with his hair, which also increased significantly in length, now reaching down his entire back. The blue glow of the veins along his body disappeared, returning to a dark color, almost like his body's tone had inverted.

Boros, still cloaked in his ferocious aura, coiled his legs in a crouch. His muscles twitched in each limb like a spring ready to break. He opened his eye and locked onto Vegeta, who stood unimpressed, could he not sense Boros' increase in power?

"Meteoric… Burst!"

Boros kicked off the ground, creating a devastating shockwave in his wake as he shot towards the Saiyan. Vegeta barely had time to register a look of shock as Boros slammed his fist into the Prince's face. The impact was so powerful that the resulting kinetic energy exploded across the plains, turning even the solid stone of the wasteland into molten lava.

The damage their fight had caused previously was nothing compared to this unparalleled display of destructive force. The wave of energy washed over the ground like a tsunami, annihilating everything in its path. But Vegeta was still alive; Boros could feel his energy, and so he leapt into the shockwaves current, ready to end the fight.

* * *

Vegeta had been sure of his victory, there were few who could survive his Galick Gun in the universe, even less who could get back up and continue to fight. He had to admit he was mildly impressed that this 'Boros' could still stand after taking it full on, but he had to be reaching his limits of regeneration by now.

Having destroyed his Scouter, he could no longer read his opponents Power level, if he had been able to, perhaps things would have gone differently. But instead he allowed himself to be caught off guard, not realizing that the alien's power had reached above twenty two thousand with his newest transformation, even higher than Vegeta's own.

He flew through the shockwave created by Boros' last punch, or rather, he fell through it. He had no time to recover before the cyclopean alien rushed in, his fists rocketing out into a barrage of powerful blows. The alien was nothing more than a flash of light against the Saiyan, each blow coming from a different direction.

Vegeta's armor, designed to survive even the strongest of impacts, began to shatter under the flurry of punches, and for the first time in the fight he took damage.

"The energy shunted off from my body becomes a propelling force, elevating my speed and power beyond the limitations…" Boros began to talk through his barrage, grabbing Vegeta out of the air and slamming him through a stone wall, the sheer force of impact liquefying the stone. "..Of living flesh!"

Vegeta hit the ground with a crack, a crater forming in his wake. But he had no time to recover even then, as Boros landed a dropkick against his back, smashing him back into the ground with the strength of a falling star.

Boros' body flashed in a prismatic array of colors as he moved, the light created from his body enough to blind and disorient just by looking at him. Vegeta tried to counterattack, but his fists felt sluggish compared to the speed at which Boros pummeled him back.

With a powerful kick, Boros sent Vegeta crashing through several layers of stone and earth at over the speed of sound, until he finally stopped moving a great distance away. battered and bloody, Vegeta was utterly broken by the assault.

Impossible, how had this low level scum pushed him this far!? For a proud man like Vegeta, it was unacceptable that he lose here, but being forced to use his final trump card against such a worthless enemy might as well have been a defeat for him.

Though his reports had said this world possessed a moon, he had noticed a strange lack of such an object on his arrival, had they destroyed their own moon in anticipation of this battle? It was no matter, he had an easy workaround.

Picking himself off the ground, he flew high into the air, leaving a trail of blood in his wake. Even such a simple act pained him greatly, how could that alien have injured him that much? Vegeta raised his hand, a small orb of energy forming in his palm. He gathered as much as he could, and when it was complete, he threw it into the sky, where it expanded greatly in size.

This sphere drained most of his remaining energy, making it his final option. He had wanted to save this if he could, but he wasn't about to be defeated here. His body creaked, painfully changing from within as he stared at the fake moon. Soon, his body began to expand, his body growing several times his normal size. His skin grew a layer of fur, and his face took on an ape like appearance. But this transformation wasn't about size, it was about _strength_. A Saiyan's great ape form increases his Power Level tenfold, easily enough to defeat that scum who thought himself a match for the Prince of Saiyans.

His now massive body crashed into the ground, shaking the earth under his weight. At his feet was the alien, Boros, looking like an insect compared to his new size.

"Now do you see how outclassed you are, you backwater scum?!" Vegeta's voice, now monstrous and booming, was almost powerful enough to destroy the surrounding area. "I'm going to enjoy crushing you like the bug you are!"

* * *

Boros hunched over, nearly falling to his knee again. He panted heavily, clutching his chest. Meteoric Burst allowed him to go past his limits, but it was an incredibly stressful ability that strained his body to the extremes. He knew he could only use it as a last resort, something to end fights quickly, and yet… the Saiyan had survived.

What's even more, before he could catch up to him, he had transformed into this… thing. He could never have anticipated a turn of events where his enemy would turn into a giant monkey right before his eyes.

What was even more shocking however, was his strength. Boros could feel the energy within Vegeta, having increased dramatically, becoming well over eight times Boros' own. But there was more to fighting than just raw power, and now his opponent was a bigger target.

What was this feeling inside of him? His blood was boiling, and he heart couldn't stop racing. Was this possibly… excitement? The foe before him was so overwhelmingly strong, unlike anything he had ever seen before, had the prophecy held true?

"Hwaahh!" Boros leapt into the air, transforming into a radiant bullet aimed directly at Vegeta. He crashed into the great ape, but it didn't budge an inch. His fists lashed out at the huge creature's face, but the Saiyan merely laughed.

With a flick of his wrist, Vegeta slammed Boros against the ground. The cyclopean alien felt an intense pain run through his entire body as he hit the surface of the earth, coughing up blood with the impact.

"Yes, that's the way, Vegeta!" He leapt up, pulling his battered body back together with his focused healing energies, though he was nearing his limits. "You _are_ the opponent I've been waiting for, one truly worth defeating!"

Before he could launch another attack, Vegeta's enormous fist struck him with an indescribable force. In that moment, Boros' body was blown away, almost completely reduced to gore.

Somehow, he remained conscious after a blow of that magnitude, even though by all rights he should have died instantly. His eye went bloodshot, and with an unbelievable display of his healing abilities, he restored his entire body in an instant, literally pulling his scattered parts back together.

This was it, this was the feeling he had forgotten! The sensation of struggling, of fighting for one's life, if it weren't for the intense pain he was feeling right now he might have assumed this was a dream.

"I will defeat you!" Boros' energy surged, he was putting everything into this attack. Even if it cost him his life, he would defeat the enemy before him! He rose up into the air, arcs of energy shooting from his body like lightning. They rampaged across the land below him, further turning their battlefield into a sea of molten stone. "I'll release all my energy at once, blowing both you and this planet to hell!"

"I'd like to see you try, you pathetic worm!" Vegeta's voice, filled with the primal rage of his altered form, bellowed across the land. He too began to change his power, a sphere of energy appearing within his mouth.

Ba-bump.

All he could hear was his heartbeat, every other sound drained away from his mind. His body was completely covered in his violently flashing aura, transforming him into a light brighter than a small sun.

"COLLAPSING STAR, ROARING CANNON!"

Boros unleashed his ultimate trump card, the final move he possessed. A blast of energy powerful enough to wipe all life from the surface of a world in one shot, but would it be enough?

"GALICK GUN!"

Vegeta's blast was nothing like it had been before; the level of intensity was orders of magnitude stronger than his first blast. Vegeta's attack easily blew both Boros' attack and the Space Pirate away, the beam cutting a purple path across the sky into space. Boros stood no chance, Vegeta was just too strong, and he was completely defeated.

As his vision started to fade, he thought he saw a flash of orange appear in front of him. Before everything went completely dark, he had a single thought cross his mind… he wasn't strong enough.


End file.
